Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Julie Christie (Actor) Featurette-Fahrenheit 451: The Novel - A Discussion With Ray Bradbury Featurette-Making Of Featurette-The Music Of Fahrenheit 451 Featurette-Original Title Sequence Gallery-Production Photographs
Rating
Year Of Production	1966
Running Time	107:50
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (60:30)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	François Truffaut
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Oskar Werner Julie Christie Cyril Cusack Anton Diffring Jeremy Spenser Bee Duffell Alex Scott
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Bernard Herrmann

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired French German	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    It is a miracle that this film was ever finished, as the information in the accompanying documentaries lists a string of problems that could have meant that the film was never completed. These problems include the communication barriers that existed between the French director, Francois Truffaut, and the cast and crew, most of whom spoke only English, the animosity that developed between the director and the leading man, and other problems that just seemed to pile up. The public's and critics' response to the finished product must have been most disappointing after everything that the director had been through to get the film in the can.

    Ray Bradbury claims that he is not a science fiction writer, and yet he is best known for Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. The novel itself is his view of a dystopian future. There are elements in common with George Orwell's 1984 and Aldus Huxley's Brave New World, though I did not find the film as chilling as I did the films based on the other two books. One of the main influences that is obvious in the film is the Third Reich - this can be seen in the uniforms of the firemen and other actions of the government. There are two main differences from the novel that I am aware of; the first is that the character of Clarisse was changed quite dramatically. In the book she is a young teenage girl, not a young woman that is a teacher at the local school. The other is the deletion of the mechanical hounds. Included in the special features is an interview with Ray Bradbury where he gives his impression of the film.

    There are two main concepts on which the novel is based. The first is that books are banned. In fact, they are hunted down and burned wherever they are found. The title of course refers to this, as 451 degrees Fahrenheit is supposedly the temperature at which book paper ignites. The second is that all houses in the future are fireproof and as such there is no need for firemen as we know them (a limited view of the life of a fireman). The firemen of the future are an arm of the totalitarian government and are charged with the duty of burning books. They ride a fire truck that holds kerosene instead of water and they carry flame throwers.

    It is interesting that the focus of the film is the banning of books and the examination of a society that does not have access to the printed word. This is out of step with today where sadly very few actually read books. This places the film in a time capsule as a period piece of the late sixties. The ban on books is the centre of the film's focus, and is used to highlight that the society of the day is under totalitarian government control. The other laws and restrictions are in the background and have to be looked for to be seen. The government controls the population with mindless TV shows and a free supply of mind numbing drugs.

    Two parts of the future society are examined via their effects on the main character, Montag. Montag is a fireman and is a cog in the machine of government. He appears quiet, but happy, and is up for promotion at work. He is married to Linda who is the perfect citizen, watches lots of TV and takes all her drugs. In contrast, Montag meets Clarisse on the monorail on the way home from work. She lives in a house near his. She is a rebel and loves to read books. Montag finds himself influenced by Clarisse and becomes dissatisfied with his life and the government. He soon finds himself out of step with his wife and the authorities.

    Critics originally were critical of the acting and of the dialogue. I think this is a little unfair as I get the impression that some of this was intentional as they tried to portray a society that had no source of inspiration. It probably also put people at odds in that there is very little science fiction backdrop to the film. There are no futuristic cars, houses, clothes and gadgets that were already starting to become an essential part of science fiction films in the audiences' mind. There is a project underway to remake this film - I am not sure just how it will be received as books are not the centre of people's lives as they once were, but I can guess that the mechanical hounds will be in the new version.

Video

    Presented at its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharpness could be better even allowing for the age of the source material. Shadow detail is pretty good and there is some low level noise triggered by grain. Overall, the contrast and saturation in the colours is a little lacking, undoubtedly due again to the age of the material and the grain.

    There are no major MPEG artefacts other than some posterization in the colours such as on the fire truck at 1:42. There is camera wobble in many scenes but I don't think that this is a transfer problem. There are quite a few film artefacts with grain being quite visible and a fair number of white flecks affecting the image. There is also some dirt and other scratches in some scenes.

    The subtitles are accurate and easy to read and include sound cues.

    This is a dual layered disc with the layer change at 60:30 in the middle of a conversation - it could have been better placed.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are four soundtracks on this disc, all Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; English, French, German and a commentary track in English.

    Dialogue quality is good, although the audio sync was occasionally slightly out. Most of the dialogue was redone in the studio so this is probably the source of the sync problems.

    The music is fantastic and really plays an emotional part in the film in a way that the characters do not. The music was written by Bernard Herrmann, the composer for many of the Hitchcock films. There is a mini-documentary in the special features just on the music.

    The surrounds were not utilised of course, nor was the subwoofer to any great extent.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Commentary: Julie Christie

    While the menu credits Julie Christie with the commentary, and she does appear, there is a cast of many people making up this commentary including the editor, the DVD producer, an academic that is a specialist on Francois Truffaut and others. There is a wealth of very interesting information in this commentary. It is at times screen-specific but at others not related to what is on screen. Some of the material does repeat in the other special features, but still, this is well worth a listen. The only complaint is the announcing of the person that is about to speak in full each time we change commentator - this gets a bit tiring after a while. The DVD producer was a friend of Francois Truffaut and talks only about this and mentions nothing about the production of the DVD.

Featurette: Fahrenheit 451: The Novel. A Discussion with Ray Bradbury. (11:29)

    A interesting talk with the author which covers his thinking at the time that he wrote the novel. There are a couple of references to the film but it is mostly about the novel. Interesting comments about the times that it was written in, the height of the cold war. One particularly interesting piece of information is that at no time was Fahrenheit 451 a best seller, but that it has sold solidly every year since it has been written. Presented at 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Documentary: The Making of Fahrenheit 451 (44:32)

    Columbia University professor Anette Insdorf, producer Luise Allan, Ray Bradbury, and editor Tom Noble are all interviewed for this documentary. While some of the material repeats from the commentary there is lots of new information in this documentary. The interviews are intercut with footage from the film and still shots from the production. Presented at 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Featurette: The Music of Fahrenheit 451. (16:42)

    This featurette includes Steven C. Smith (Bernard Herrmann biographer) along with producer Luise Allan, editor Tom Noble and Columbia University professor Anette Insdorf. The format is identical to the making of documentary with interviews and intercut footage from the film and still shots. It covers the background of the relationship between Francois Truffaut and Herman Miller and their relationship with Alfred Hitchcock and then moves on to the production of the music for the film and again some of the difficulties that were encountered with the language barrier. Presented at 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Original Title Sequence (1:07)

    Presented at 1.33:1 with the image letterboxed at 1.85:1 along with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The only difference I can spot is that the voiceover is presented by a woman rather than a man.

Production Photographs (5:08)

    A series of stills containing original movie posters and production shots from the film. The images are inset into a 1.33:1 frame and run automatically at about five second intervals accompanied by music from the film.

    Other than the inclusion of closed captions on the R1 version, the two releases appear identical.

    There are several ways to view this film; as a time capsule from the height of the cold war, as a dystopian future of which elements can be seen as part of today's society, or as a solid piece of science fiction. While it was not well received when it was released, it has gone on to become one of the true classics of its time. Well worth a look if you have not seen it before and appreciate this kind of science fiction.

    The video is a little disappointing.

    The audio is as you would expect for the time.

    The extras are a fantastic inclusion - it's a pity all films don't receive this sort of treatment.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall